Don’t Be Alarmed by the Drone Blimps

national journal ^ | July 26 2013 | Brian Resnick

[MeshugeMikey]

Don’t Be Alarmed by the Drone Blimps Hovering Over D.C. They’re Here to Stop Cruise Missiles

If America is attacked, we might be saved by blimps. No, not state-of-the-art jet fighters that can fly well beyond the speed of sound. But blimps: lumbering, relatively jovial blimps—the manatees of aviation. Within a year, a pair of souped-up $2.7 billion blimps (price includes R&D) will be floated 10,000 feet above the District of Columbia and act as a 340-mile-wide eye in the sky, detecting incoming missiles and the like.

[MeshugeMikey]

2.7 BILLION Dollars for a Blimp??

[UCANSEE2]

2.7 BILLION Dollars for a Blimp??

Only if it was a 2 for 1 sale. It says a 'pair' of blimps.

[MrB]

First thing that came to mind was the squirrel bomb in Caddy Shack -

nevermind this - doctor’s orders.

[Coffee... Black... No Sugar]

If the cameras and capabilities were only pointed UPWARDS there might not be a concern. But it might be too dern convenient to waste such a platform by not installing downward facing sensors or cameras. Don.t be fooled by the missle shield talk... those will have but one, single purpose.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

In DC it’s the youts that will get you, not the jihadists.

[McGruff]

Brian Resnick is a staff writer at National Journal. Before joining, Brian spent a year at The Atlantic as a fellow, where he produced content and wrote for TheAtlantic.com. In addition to The Atlantic, his writing has been featured in Popular Mechanics and The News Journal, Delaware's main daily newspaper. Brian graduated cum laude from the University of Delaware in 2011 with a B.A. in psychology. In college, he served as a managing editor for the student newspaper, The Review, and received the E.A Nickerson award for excellence in journalism. He comes from Long Island, New York.

Not a rocket scientist.

[i_robot73]

Ummm, don’t we already have multiple multi-$Billion satellites in low-Earth orbit for the same thing??

Something’s not passing the smell test.

[fella]

All that’s needed to defeat these blimps is one of the D.C. areas notorious thunderstorms.

[Adder]

How oh how did we ever survive without them?

Incoming missles my achin azz...Well they say they can see NC from there: hey look at THIS!!
Smarmy bass turds.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

So it was a BOGO? I like BOGO’s!

[Venturer]

Anyone who believes these blimps are here to spoy Cruise missiles is a damned fool and I have a bunch of valuable stuff in my garage I would love to sell them.

Why use drones to spy on Americans when we have blimps.

[Errant]

Where's OURS??? We as American Citizens need to demand our blimps as well!!!

2 Billion for DC, not a penny for the heartland...

[x1stcav]

We need to choke off the money to DC so they don’t have the ability to fool around with this stuff.

[dfwgator]

Oh, the humanity.

[Sirius Lee]

a 340-mile-wide eye in the sky.

Not an eye ON the sky. More likely an eye on the people, you know, just to facially recognize them at all times.

[cornfedcowboy]

There are surveillance blimps down in the Florida Keys. I would think those are about drug smuggling. Anyone familiar with these?

[Errant]

[MeshugeMikey]

they’re looking for the “OH look at The Cool Bimp response”

modern “looking drones” likely suspect

Pld Fashioned Blimps....”not so much”

[Errant]

Yea, and one in Texas... I believe they’ve been removed or were in the process of doing so.

[MeshugeMikey]

a pair of souped-up $2.7 billion blimps

Im guessing..that means per blimp pricing